A Waltz Among Starlight
by Lost Apostate
Summary: A mysterious figure sends her to the Normandy. Why? She doesn't really know, but will she stay? That she is unsure of. Calista was sure of one thing : She was given a second chance at living. What will it cost for her to keep it and will it be worth it knowing what fate has laid out before her?


The blows started slow. Calista Stephens curled up on the floor in the fetal position as the punches and kicks came faster and faster. She felt the heat of each punch, the pain of each kick. Tears of rage and hopelessness streamed down her face, as she silently prayed for an end to the misery.

Tonight was the same as many other nights previous. Her father, an alcoholic, got it into his head that she'd done something wrong. So he did as he had always done and beat her. Calista hated it, she hated him. She was so tired of it that she wished she could just run away to a faraway place.

Her father kept screaming at her about how bad of a person she was. How she was fat, ugly and stupid. He had drilled that into her head, so much, over the years that she began to believe it. She was tired of living with the anxiety, the depression, the social anxiety and everything that came with it.

A hard kick to the hip snapped her out of her daydream. She rolled her head over in just enough time to see a fist coming at her face. That was the last thing she saw before falling into unconsciousness.

Days later, Calista woke up in the hospital, feeling like she'd been hit by a semi truck. She heard voices in the room with her and turned to look at the door. It was one of the nurses talking to her mom.

"Mrs. Stephens, what happened?" The nurse asked.

"Well, you see, my daughter is very clumsy. She decided she was going to climb high into a tree and slipped and fell."

A tear rolled down Calista's cheek. She didn't deserve that. She was hurt and betrayed. Her soul felt raw and scathed beyond repair. The nurse gave her mother a look as if to say she didn't believe it and walked out of the room. Her mom turned to see that she was awake.

"Morning, sunshine. How you feeling?" She asked as she sat down beside the bed.

"Why'd you lie?" Calista growled

"You know how your father is, honey. If he found out we'd both be in trouble."

A troubled look crossed her moms face as more tears came to Calista's eyes. How dare she lie for him! How dare she put up with it and not defend her daughter! She's just bad as he is.

"You're pathetic. You are just as useless of a mother as he is a father. Get out of my sight!" Calista yelled as best she could.

Her mother bowed her head in shame, got up and walked out of the room. Hours passed and her mom hadn't returned. Glancing out the window, she saw the stars shimmer like diamonds. Her eyes began to get heavy and she couldn't keep them open. She felt like she was losing control of her body as her eyes forcefully closed.

Her mother returned around 10pm and asked the nurses why she couldn't wake her daughter. The head nurse explained that she had slipped into a coma while she was away. Mrs. Stephens sat and began to pray. Calista could hear her mother but her mind began to slip and she fell into a dream.

A figure lingered in the darkness that surrounded them. It was a good ways away though. Slowly it came closer and closer. It was an ethereal male figure dressed in a long black cloak. She began to panic; the hood covered its face. It finally came to a stop and lowered the hood.

His piercing green eyes and soft features put her mind at ease. She felt like she knew him from somewhere but couldn't place it.

"Be at ease, child." He softly spoke. "The cries of your heart and desires of your soul have been heard."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Calista stammered.

"I give you a way out. A way out of all the misery, pain and abuse."

Calista felt herself starting to float; she looked down at her body. It was hard seeing herself like that but it was also a testament to what she had endured the last couple years. She turned back to the cloaked figure.

"Where are we going?"

"Do not fear, we shall meet again at the end."

The figure faded into darkness and she was left with more questions than answers. She felt the coolness of a hard floor.

 _Oh no, not this again….._ She thought.

Fear and anxiety rushed over her like a way upon the shore. She stood up and looked around. She was in a bathroom, but where? Looking in the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. The bruises had vanished, the swelling gone and she wasn't sore in the slightest.

After a quick once over, she decided to investigate and find out where she ended up. Calista walked to the bathroom door and it opened with a swoosh. She crept down the hallway and kept an ear out for any noise. She had gotten to the next section of hallway as an arm came around her waist and a hand over her mouth.

Calista felt warm breath next to her ear. She tried looking around, tried to escape but the hold on her was to strong. The person dragged her to the cargo hold, set her in a chair, tied her hands in front of her and locked the door.

She shook her curly blond hair out of her face and looked the man in the eyes. She gasped loudly as she realized where the spirit had dropped her off. It had put her in the universe of one of her favorite video game series, Mass Effect.

"It can't be." Calista whispered.

"It can't be what?" The man asked

Calista stood up, took a running leap towards him, wrapped her legs around his waist and threw her bound hands over his head and around his neck.

"I can't believe I'm here! I am such a huge fan of yours…..James Vega." Calista exclaimed with a giggle.

"How do you know me?"

"Um…."

She had to think of something quick. She couldn't tell him the truth.

"I…I've seen you around. A very handsome Alliance Marine is hard to miss." She teased.

James gave a slight laugh as he picked her up and put her back on the floor. He took his pocket knife and cut her loose just as Commander John Shepard walked in.

"Mr. Vega, I understand we're docked on Omega but…" Shepard trailed off.

"Loco, this isn't what it looks like."

"Mhmm. Now who might you be?"

"Calista Stephens. I wanted to join your crew and James told me where to find the Normandy."

"James, is it true?"

"Uh, yeah Loco." James said

Shepard took her to the conference room. He was joined by Kaidan, Liara, Tali and the other squad mates. He wanted to find out what kind of background Calista had and if the others approved of her being here. Calista had to make up a believable story and hoped it would be accepted.


End file.
